Smartphone apps that help you get a good night’s sleep

Catching up on sleep can do wonders for your workout routine. (Thinkstock)

WASHINGTON – The conventional wisdom says that using your smartphone before going to bed will keep you awake at night, and that’s true. But there are a few ways your phone can help you get a good night’s sleep.

The New York Times reports that, while there’s no smartphone app that will help you get to sleep, apps such as Sleep Cycle, for the iOS, help you track and chart your sleep habits.

The app instructs users to put the phone on your mattress as it monitors your movements, recording when you’re in deep sleep. Also, it wakes you up at the point in your sleep cycle when you’re sleeping lightly, so you don’t feel nearly as groggy as when that alarm clock wakes you.

The $2 app allows you to record notes on such factors as caffeine intake or stress level, so you can look back later and see whether they affected your sleep.

The Times says the Android app Sleepbot is similar, but with more features, such as a noise-monitoring function. Although the Times says the app is not as easy to use, it is free.

Both systems have apps that generate soothing sounds to help you get to sleep, such as iOS’s Sleep Pillow Sounds and Android’s Relax and Sleep.